DS Smith targets 25% production surge at Zărnești mill for 2027

Maximizing existing assets in the Romanian market

In an industry where capacity expansions usually mean massive capital expenditure and new paper machines, DS Smith is taking a decidedly different route at its Zărnești mill in Romania. General Manager Marius Juncanariu has confirmed a strategic roadmap that will push the facility's production up by approximately 25% in 2027. What makes this move particularly noteworthy for the European containerboard sector is the methodology: achieving a quarter more output relying on the same primary infrastructure and a stable workforce.

The numbers tell a story of steady, calculated optimization. In 2025, the mill delivered 225,000 tonnes of recycled paper. Now, halfway through 2026, the facility is on track to hit 245,000 tonnes. The leap planned for 2027 will test the absolute limits of their current setup, demanding unprecedented operational efficiency from their PM1 two-layer machine, which currently operates with a 5.39-meter trim and a maximum speed of 1,150 meters per minute.

The foundation of the 2027 expansion

This ambitious 2027 target is not materializing out of thin air. It is the direct dividend of foundational investments made over the past few years. The €11 million injection into a state-of-the-art Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP), featuring dual anaerobic reactors, was a critical bottleneck breaker. By reducing freshwater consumption by 20% and cutting waste by 60%, the mill created the environmental and operational headroom necessary to scale up production without running afoul of local resource constraints.

Juncanariu's strategy reflects a growing trend among top-tier packaging manufacturers: sweating the assets. Instead of expanding the physical footprint, the focus is on eliminating micro-stoppages, optimizing the furnish mix of recycled OCC (Old Corrugated Containers), and leveraging data to keep the PM1 running at peak continuous speed. For a mill that supplies nearly half of Romania's domestic demand for packaging paper, this efficiency drive is crucial to maintaining market dominance against regional competitors.

• Historical output (2025): 225,000 tonnes
• Current projection (2026): 245,000 tonnes
• Future target (2027): ~25% additional capacity
• Key enablers: WWTP upgrades, PM1 optimization, and workforce expertise

Decarbonization as a parallel objective

Scaling production by 25% typically brings a proportional spike in energy consumption—a dangerous proposition in the volatile European energy market. To counter this, DS Smith Zărnești is actively evaluating new renewable energy and decarbonization projects. The anaerobic reactors are already projected to save up to 4,500 tonnes of CO2 annually, but reaching the 2027 production targets will require further integration of green energy sources to keep the carbon footprint per tonne of paper in check.

This dual focus on maximum asset utilization and energy transition is exactly what the modern paper industry requires. DS Smith is proving that a mill with over 170 years of history can still find new gears to shift into, provided the management focuses on the right operational levers rather than just pouring concrete for new halls.

The Zărnești strategy is a masterclass in brownfield optimization, proving that smart engineering and process refinement can unlock capacity that many would assume requires a new machine. Will other legacy mills in Eastern Europe follow this asset-sweating playbook instead of committing to heavy CAPEX expansions? Follow The Paper for daily news, market signals and key updates from the global paper, corrugated and packaging industry. — Sigue toda la actualidad del sector en www.thepaper.ai